Alpinestars (band)

Last updated

Alpinestars
Origin Manchester, United Kingdom
Genres Electronic rock, electronica, alternative rock
Years active1999–2003
LabelsFaith and Hope
Guidance Recordings
Riverman Records
Astralwerks
MembersRichard Woolgar
Glyn Thomas

Alpinestars was an electronic rock duo formed in 1999 in Manchester by Richard Woolgar and Glyn Thomas.

Contents

History

The Beginnings (1995–1999)

Richard Woolgar and Glyn Thomas met each other in 1995, as a result of being in separate bands that shared the same rehearsal space. They found they had more in common with each other than with their respective bands, so they broke away to form their own ephemeral electro group, which they named "Maxim". [1]

Although Maxim never produced anything, it brought Woolgar and Thomas to the attention of the promoter of a local Manchester club. They were invited to create an hour-long set to perform live within a week. They took the name "Alpinestars" after a mountain bike Thomas owned and proceeded to meet the challenge. The performance was a success and Alpinestars signed with Faith and Hope Records. [2]

The EPs (1999–2000)

The band debuted in August 1999 with a limited edition EP titled "Las Vegas." Its third track, "Interlaken," became the most requested track on Steve Lamacq's Radio 1 evening show. [1] The band followed up with two more EPs, "Silicon Chick" in November 1999, [3] and "Kitzbuhel Weekend" in March 2000. A single taken from this latter EP became a "Single of the Week" in NME magazine. [1]

B.A.S.I.C. and White Noise (2000–2003)

In July 2000, Alpinestars released their first commercial single "77 Sunset Strip," which they followed up with their first full-length album B.A.S.I.C. (standing for "Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code"). B.A.S.I.C. was released in September 2000 by Faith and Hope, [3] and later rereleased in 2003 by Guidance Recordings. [4] It was praised by numerous magazines, [1] despite being hard to find. [5]

Alpinestars left Faith and Hope in 2001 [1] and released their second major album, White Noise, a year later, with Riverman Records and Astralwerks (for the US release). Both Woolgar and Thomas contributed vocals for songs on White Noise, and Brian Molko, lead singer of Placebo, lent Alpinestars his voice for "Carbon Kid". According to Woolgar, "We wanted to get away from the sampler duo mentality."

In a 2002 interview with PlayLouder, the pair was asked to talk about the direction they wanted to go with White Noise. On being unsigned, Thomas explained,

Being in an unsigned band is just as much fun as being in a signed band...It's almost as though that's the only time you're in total control of what you do - when you're unsigned...I'd be scared shitless being twenty one years old and signing a major record deal now because you know that you've only got a year to prove yourself. If you don't sell a lot of records in that year you're probably going to be yesterday's news very quickly and find it very difficult to move on and do something else. [5]

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

YearTitle UK Chart
[6]
1999"Silicon Chick" (EP)
"Less Vegas" (EP)
2000"Kitzbühel Weekend" (EP)
"77 Sunset Strip"
2001"Interlaken"94
2002"Snow Patrol"99
"Carbon Kid" (featuring Brian Molko) [7] 63
2003"Burning Up"84
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Game appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine Wheel (band)</span> English band

Catherine Wheel were an English alternative rock band from Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. The band was active from 1990 to 2000, releasing five full-length albums in their career, embarking on many lengthy tours and experiencing fluctuating levels of commercial success. Initially receiving attention and success after releasing their debut album Ferment in 1992, the band achieved peak success with the release of "Crank" and their album Chrome in 1993. The band also achieved minor success with other albums, including Happy Days, which featured a popular song "Judy Staring at the Sun" as a collaboration with Tanya Donelly. Catherine Wheel also scored heavy rotation on MTV and performed there several times. Despite never having any albums or songs that achieved major success in their homeland, Catherine Wheel continue to be popular among alternative rock and shoegaze fans and critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightning Bolt (band)</span> American noise rock band

Lightning Bolt is an American noise rock duo from Providence, Rhode Island, composed of Brian Chippendale on drums and vocals and Brian Gibson on bass guitar. The band met and formed in 1994 as students of the Rhode Island School of Design. Lightning Bolt were listed 8th in Metacritic's Artists of the Decade 2000–09.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rap metal</span> Subgenre of music

Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taking Back Sunday</span> American rock band

Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. The band was formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in 1999. The band's members currently are Adam Lazzara, John Nolan, Shaun Cooper and Mark O'Connell (drums), accompanied by Nathan Cogan (guitar) for their live performances. Among the band's former members include Lacey, Reyes and guitarist and vocalist Fred Mascherino.

Alternative metal is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by heavily downtuned, mid-paced guitar riffs, a mixture of accessible melodic vocals and harsh vocals and sometimes unconventional sounds within other heavy metal styles. The term has been in use since the 1980s, although it came into prominence in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Dub Foundation</span> English electronica band

Asian Dub Foundation (ADF) is an English electronic music band that combines musical styles including rap rock, dub, dancehall, ragga, and South Asian music. The group also includes traditional rock instruments such as electric bass and guitar, which acknowledges a punk rock influence. Their music is known for its dub-inspired basslines, guitar parts inspired by the traditional Indian instrument the sitar, and fast rapping.

Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. Post-hardcore began in the 1980s with bands like Hüsker Dü and Minutemen. The genre expanded in the 1980s and 1990s with releases by bands from cities that had established hardcore scenes, such as Fugazi from Washington, D.C. as well as groups such as Big Black and Jawbox that stuck closer to post-hardcore's noise rock roots. In the early- and mid-2000s, post-hardcore achieved mainstream success with the popularity of bands like My Chemical Romance, Dance Gavin Dance, AFI, Underoath, Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, The Used, At the Drive-In, Saosin, Alexisonfire, and Senses Fail. In the 2010s, bands like Sleeping with Sirens and Pierce the Veil achieved mainstream success. Meanwhile, bands like Title Fight and La Dispute experienced underground popularity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunn O)))</span> American experimental metal band

Sunn O))) is an American experimental metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington. The band is known for their distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, drone, black metal, dark ambient, and noise rock, as well as for their loud live performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawk Nelson</span> Canadian band

Hawk Nelson is a Canadian rock band from Peterborough, Ontario. Formed in 2000, the band has released eight studio albums to date.

<i>Three Dollar Bill, Yall</i> 1997 studio album by Limp Bizkit

Three Dollar Bill, Y'all is the debut studio album by American rap rock band Limp Bizkit, released on July 1, 1997 by Flip and Interscope Records. It established the band's trademark sound with the singles "Counterfeit", which was influenced by hip hop and heavy metal, and "Faith", a cover of the song of the same name by George Michael. Limp Bizkit's rearrangement of the song incorporated heavier guitar playing by Wes Borland and scratching by DJ Lethal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Loud Family</span> American power pop band

The Loud Family was a San Francisco-based power pop band formed in 1991 by songwriter and guitarist Scott Miller, who previously led the 1980s band Game Theory. The Loud Family released six studio LPs and one live LP from 1991 through 2006. After Miller's death in 2013, three Loud Family members participated in recording sessions for Supercalifragile (2017), Miller's posthumous Game Theory album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodic hardcore</span> Music genre

Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and screaming. Nevertheless, the genre has been very diverse, with different bands showcasing very different styles. Many pioneering melodic hardcore bands, have proven influential across the spectrum of punk rock, as well as rock music more generally. The term "melodic punk" is often used to describe both melodic hardcore and skate punk bands.

Karl Clive Gordon, known by the stage name K-Gee, is a British DJ, producer, rapper and songwriter and former member of the Outlaw Posse.

The Autumns were an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California, comprising Matthew Kelly, Frankie Koroshec (guitar), Dustin Morgan (bass) and Steve Elkins (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Pryor (musician)</span> American musician (born 1978)

Matt Pryor is an American musician who lives in Lawrence, Kansas. He is best known as a founding member and the lead vocalist of The Get Up Kids, one of the most influential acts of the second-wave emo music scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fearless Records</span> American independent record label

Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the Fearless Flush Sampler and Punk Bites releases, as well as additional releases by bands such as Bigwig and Dynamite Boy; and later Sugarcult; Plain White T's; The Aquabats; Amely; and post-hardcore releases by At the Drive-In and Anatomy of a Ghost. However, the label has experimented with different styles in recent years. Acts such as Blessthefall, The Word Alive, Ice Nine Kills, Mayday Parade, Pierce The Veil, Starset, The Pretty Reckless, Underoath and The Color Morale have showcased post-hardcore, metalcore, hard rock and alternative rock bands that have emerged in recent years. Fearless Records' releases were distributed in the US by RED Distribution, but after Concord Music Group's purchase of the label in 2015, it is now distributed by Universal Music Group worldwide.

The Pooh Sticks were a Welsh indie pop band from Swansea, Wales, primarily recording between 1988 and 1995. They were notable for their jangly melodiousness and lyrics gently mocking the indie scene of the time, such as on "On Tape", "Indiepop Ain't Noise Pollution" and "I Know Someone Who Knows Someone Who Knows Alan McGee Quite Well". The band changed direction on their 1991 U.S breakthrough The Great White Wonder, eschewing the 'twee' British indie pop sound for a more American-styled power pop sound, akin to bands such as Jellyfish and Redd Kross. Subsequent albums included Million Seller, released on 11 January 1993, considered by some power pop fans to be the band's best work, and Optimistic Fool, released on 24 April 1995, followed in this style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rise Records</span> American record label

Rise Records is an American record label currently based in Beaverton, Oregon, mainly focusing on alternative rock, heavy metal, and punk rock music artists.

Luke Andrew Munns is an Australian musician, known for being the original drummer of Hillsong United, one of multiple worship bands to come out of Sydney's Hillsong Church's youth group. Luke is also a recording producer and songwriter. Luke was a member of Hillsong United from 1999 to 2006 but left to start the rock/indie/folk band LUKAS as lead singer/songwriter. He is a member of Hillsong Church, Australia and remains a strong Christian believer. Munns was also the drummer for many Hillsong Church albums, and the band Able, which was composed of Marty Sampson, Michael Guy Chislett and Joel Houston, which won the Channel V Leg Up competition in 2001.

<i>B.A.S.I.C.</i> (Alpinestars album) 2000 studio album by Alpinestars

B.A.S.I.C. is an album composed by the music group Alpinestars, released in 2000.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Faith & Hope Records: Alpinestars". Archived from the original on 8 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  2. Demalon, Tom. "Artist Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  3. 1 2 "PlayLouder - Alpinestars". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  4. "Guidance Recordings - Alpinestars B.A.S.I.C." Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  5. 1 2 "'Snow Kidding". PlayLouder. 6 March 2002. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
  6. "ALPINESTARS - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  7. Roberts, David (2004). Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums (17th ed.). Guinness World Records Ltd. p. 21. ISBN   0-85112-199-3.